Swimming is a relaxing activity for most, but Adam Walker wasn’t like everybody else. The young man spent most of his life as a sportsman, swimming in open waters as his favorite way to push himself.
And while the experienced swimmer had taken on many challenges, he had never had to fight for his life or get help from a school of dolphins on one of his swims, but when he took a closer look, he discovered the real danger right underneath him!
A Sportsman From the Get-Go
Growing up in Nottingham, U.K., Adam Walker always relished sports. During his teen years, he excelled as a rugby and cricket player in school and loved playing alongside his older brother.
adamoceanwalker/Instagram
While Adam showed all the signs of becoming a professional athlete, his career was unfortunately cut short due to back and knee injuries. He was advised to take it easy with swimming, the only endurance activity he was allowed to do.
His New Routine
Adam started swimming as a way to keep his body and mind healthy but soon realized his love for the sport and began to swim competitively. This simple decision led him down a life full of wild adventures, one which ended up making him famous.
adamoceanwalker/Instagram
By the time Adam Walker left university, he had been swimming for decades but only did it for fun. He embarked on a career in sales and landed a good title as a national salesman. But he felt as if something was missing from his life.
Eureka!
He found out exactly what it was by complete coincidence; Walker was on a plane to Australia for a family holiday in 2006 when he decided to watch an in-flight movie called On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The film was about a man who chose to swim the English Channel after losing his job.
adamoceanwalker/Instagram
While Walker was still happily employed, the premise inspired him to make his own life-changing decision. Adam was going to swim the English Channel. And before he could talk himself out of it, he marked a date on his calendar and began training as soon as he landed.
Pushing Himself
As we mentioned, Walker had only swam for fun since he started his sales career. After that, his life was work, eat, sleep and repeat. But with his new goal, things began to shift very quickly.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
Adam spent all his free time testing his physical and mental limits to prepare himself for one of the most difficult challenges of swimming in the world, the English Channel. And despite his lack of experience, the young man was determined and ready for the challenge.
New Challenges
And On July 14, 2008, Walker conquered the English Channel. It was his first taste of open water swimming, and to say it was hard would be an understatement. Adam described the conditions as “swimming in a washing machine.”
Adam’ Ocean’ Walker/Facebook
But despite all that, he was in love. Adam loved the challenge and finally felt accomplished in his life. And soon after started planning his next mission. On July 5, 2011, he took on the Strait of Gibraltar, making him the first British person to achieve the crossing.
Oceans Seven
The more experienced Adam became, the more he desired to take on longer and more challenging swims. And when he heard of a new long-distance swimming marathon called Oceans Seven, he was immediately intrigued.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
The premise was to complete seven of the most challenging swims in the world; Adam had already gotten two on the list, the English Channel and Strait of Gibraltar. So he swam through the Molokai Strait in Hawaii, Catalina Channel in California, Tsugaru Strait in Japan, and the North Channel between Great Britain and Ireland. Adam is the only British person amongst ten other swimmers to have completed the challenge.
Health Risk
It is clear that Adam loved pushing his body to the limits, but this came with its own set of problems. During his English Channel swim. Walker ruptured a bicep tendon, but despite being injured and advised to stop, he decided to soldier on.
Adam’ Ocean’ Walker/Facebook
Unfortunately, this caused permanent damage, despite having to undergo three operations to re-attach the fibers to the tendon. The doctors ordered Walker never to swim again, or he would risk irreparably damaging his arm.
Persistent
Of course, Walker didn’t listen to any medical advice and went on to swim for 17 hours and 2 minutes straight in the Molokai Strait. This is also where he encountered his first wild marine life: a frightening-looking and hazardous jellyfish Portuguese man o’ wa.
BBC/YouTube
A Portuguese man o’ war is as venomous as a cobra snake, and the sting can cause severe damage. “I had to pull tentacles off my stomach, I lost feeling in my spine, and I thought I’d been paralyzed. I had to go through three and a half hours of agony to complete the swim,” Walker said.
The Cook Strait
Thankfully, Adam was able to get treated as soon as he reached shore and, after a few days, started planning his next adventure. On April 22, 2014, Adam Walker chose to take on swimming in the Cook Strait, one of the world’s most dangerous and unpredictable waters.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
Situated between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, the strait connects the Tasman Sea to the South Pacific Ocean. While many would have been left unnerved, Adam was motivated and excited. He was confident that he could finish the swim and even had a GPS tracker, so people watched his progress.
Rough Start
But as soon as Adam got into the water, something felt wrong. He spent the first hour battling his mind. And by hour two, he even considered quitting! If it hadn’t been for his coach, Scott, who was keeping an eye on Adam from a nearby boat – he indeed would have.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
Scott gave Adam a pep talk and a drink and told him to push through no matter what, and by the time he went back into the water, the young swimmer was clear-headed and ready to fight.
A Fin Appears
About three hours into the swim, though, life through another challenge at Adam. He had found his rhythm and hadn’t felt the need to make a pit stop every hour or so. He had also settled his stomach and focused his mind.
adamoceanwalker/Instagram
That is before he saw a fin surge right past him! For a second, he had thought he had imagined it all, but suddenly underneath the water, he felt something bump his feet! Adam immediately looked down and was left dumbfounded!
Dolphins And Something Else
A school of dolphins surrounded Adam Walker. He had swam countless times in open water but had never experienced anything like this. The dolphins, known to be social, looked to be circling him.
adamoceanwalker/Instagram
He could hardly believe what was happening! Thankfully, the dolphins were utterly harmless, but little did he know that something else close to him was the exact opposite. In fact, the dolphins had sensed the presence of this creature before Adam.
Clueless
The young swimmer was in high spirits and clueless about what was actually going on. He spent the next 15 minutes marveling at the dolphins until he looked down again and saw something significant lurking stealthily underneath him.
sharks_favzone/Instagram
Walker’s worst fears had turned into a reality; a giant shark was uncomfortably close to Adam! He had been trained on what to do in such a situation, but all thought left his body, and he began to panic.
Panic
This only seemed to make the shark more interested in Adam; the swimmer had no idea what to do. Should he swim back to the boat? Should he stop? A million things were going through his head.
Ocean Walker/Facebook
But before he could do anything, he noticed that the dolphins had inched themselves even closer to Adam. It looked like they sensed the danger and were trying to protect him from the shark. This bizarre yet heartwarming scenario allowed Adam the space to think and calm himself down.
Decision Time
Adam knew that if he told Phil about the shark, he’d be forced to get back onto the boat and waste precious time and energy. And dealing with marine life was part of the challenge of being an open-water swimmer.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
So, the young man focused on his training and the finish line. It looked like the presence of the dolphins was keeping the shark at bay, and all Adam could do now was swim. And with each stroke, Adam tried to forget the ominous silhouette of the shark underneath him.
17 Ultimate Goal
This wasn’t the first time Walker had encountered sharks, so he knew the best tactic, which was to pretend as if it was not there. So, Adam did precisely that. He focused on reaching the end of the swim and tried his best not to look down.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
He had assumed that the dolphins would not follow him as soon as he started swimming, but miraculously, they continued their vigil around Adam. Of course, the young athlete found their company reassuring.
Looking Down
After swimming for some time now, with the dolphins still around him and Adam’s nerves calmed, the young swimmer decided to look down to see if the looming shark was still watching him.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
Thankfully though, Adam saw nothing but water underneath him. It looked like the shark had lost interest in him. And while logic would say that it was his training that allowed for that, he was sure that the dolphins’ presence had protected him.
Safety
And just as Adam realized that the shark was gone, so did the Dolphins. After swimming with him for 90 minutes, they left him just as swiftly as they had come. And with their departure, Adam felt a bit sentimental. But with the finish line so close, there was no time for that.
Flickr
But with the finish line so close, there was no time for that. Adam decided to dedicate this swim to the dolphins and used them as motivation to push himself through the final and most grueling stretch. And, of course, like all his other swims, he finished and later recalled it as “one of the happiest moments in his life.”
What Dreams Are Made Of
After 8 hours and 39 minutes, Walker finally finished his swim of the Cook Strait. His girlfriend Gemma Clarke welcomed him on shore and made him a hearty homemade soup and a warm drink.
@AdamsOceans7/Twitter
Adam Walker had conquered the waters again, but he wasn’t alone on this swim. He exclaimed, “this was the most difficult thing I have achieved in my life, and I’ll never forget swimming with the dolphins.”
